What She Ate

Six Remarkable Women and the Food That Tells Their Stories

"A beloved culinary historian's short takes on six famous women through the lens of food and cooking--what they ate and how their attitudes toward food offer surprising new insights into their lives. Everyone eats, and food touches on every aspect of our lives--social and cultural, personal and political. Yet most biographers pay little attention to people's attitudes toward food, as if the great and notable never bothered to think about what was on the plate in front of them. Once we ask how somebody relates to food, we find a whole world of different and provocative ways to understand her. Food stories can be as intimate and revealing as stories of love, work, or coming-of-age. Each of the six women in this entertaining group portrait was famous in her time, and most are still famous in ours; but until now, nobody has told their lives from the point of view of the kitchen and the table. It's a lively and unpredictable array of women; what they have in common with one another (and us) is a powerful relationship with food. They include Dorothy Wordsworth, whose food story transforms our picture of the life she shared with her famous poet brother; Rosa Lewis, the Edwardian-era Cockney caterer who cooked her way up the social ladder; Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady and rigorous protector of the worst cook in White House history; Eva Braun, Hitler's mistress, who challenges our warm associations of food, family, and table; Barbara Pym, whose witty books upend a host of stereotypes about postwar British cuisine; and Helen Gurley Brown, the editor of Cosmopolitan, whose commitment to "having it all" meant having almost nothing on the plate except a supersized portion of diet gelatin"-- Provided by publisher.

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Laura Shapiro examines the lives of six women through their relationship with food. From Dorothy Woodsworth (sister of the poet William Woodsworth) to Eva Braun to Helen Gurley Brown, the author lovingly details how each woman ate or didn't eat according to her beliefs, preferences, and lifestyles. Each woman portrayed is also an inhabitant of her particular time and place which results in a fascinating food history on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. As Shapiro says in her introduction, "Tell me what you," wrote the philosopher-gourmand Brillat-Savarin, "and I shall tell you what you are."

Definitely a wonderful, well-researched, entertaining, informative, hilarious collection of six amazing women. Especially thought-provoking look at where these women begin and where they end up, and honestly, if they arrive at some peace after all their struggles. And the struggles! If you love a pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps story, here are six of the best.

Every single story is worth reading. Every single woman is a trailblazer in her own way. Every story uses food as a thread to weave through the lives of women who make the world a better place for future women. And every single woman has more grit than most of us. They all make decisions that change the course of their lives, and getting to watch the consequences of those decisions and how they play out, is delicious. As is every other word in this book.

An interesting look at some famous women and how and what they ate. Well-researched as each chapter is a different profile. Especially enjoyed the one on Barbara Pym, whose writing has recently been recommended to me. A fun read, especially for a foodie who loves biographies!